I am curious about the increase in thunderstorms and wonder about the Solar Miniumum effect.
Apparently the Sun's hit a Solar Minimum and this has an effect on the heliosphere which weakens and in turn affects our weather thus possibly Increasing thunder storms which may be the case across Europe.
Solar Minimum brings many interesting changes. For instance, as the extreme ultraviolet output of the sun decreases, the upper atmosphere of Earth cools and collapses. Also, the heliosphere shrinks, bringing interstellar space closer to Earth. Galactic cosmic rays penetrate the inner solar system with relative ease. Indeed, a cosmic ray surge is already under way. I am wondering if this has an effect on the weather in Europe at the moment.
The above info is from bits and pieces gleaned on the internet.